Tag Archives: Health Literacy

In Episode 1 of our space series, we discussed the importance of using space to improve readability by “chunking” text. In Episode 2, we’re going to discuss the wonders of including white space in your design. Let’s take a non-writing example: Think of your closet before and after you clean it. Before, it’s a jumbled anxiety-provoking … Continue reading

As advocates for health literacy and plain language, we need to be ready to respond to a skeptic at a moment’s notice. Team Jargon can be intimidating, but with the right tools, we can win! Every effective advocate has go-to arguments on hand, so we wanted to share a few of our favorites to help … Continue reading

What was the rule in English class, again? Write out all numbers under 10 as words (so, one through nine) then switch to numerals at 10? That sounds right. But wait, maybe ten should be spelled out, too… Never mind. We’d like to introduce a new rule. When writing about health for consumers, write every number as … Continue reading

Want to know the quickest way to upset a writer at CommunicateHealth? Tell us that writing health content in plain language is “dumbing down” the information. And it not only upsets us, but it insults the 9 out of 10 Americans who struggle with understanding and using health information. A big part of the “dumbing … Continue reading

The following is a guest post by Dr. Ivor Braden Horn, a board-certified pediatrician and leading thinker on how social media and mobile health technology can be used to improve health outcomes in underserved populations. She is an NIH-funded investigator whose research interests focus on health care communications and child health disparities. … Continue reading

According to the most recent data on literacy in the United States, only 10 percent of adults have the knowledge and skills needed to understand important information about their health. Our access to health services and informed health decision-making are dependent on this information. So what about the other 90 percent? We all want – … Continue reading

How can organizations better involve clients in the design process? Are formal written reports the best way to communicate usability test findings? How can we engage new users in mobile and Web-based games for behavior change? These were a few of the questions that were explored at the 2012 UPA Boston Conference. UPA 2012 allowed … Continue reading

The regional chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association in Boston – UPA Boston – is hosting its annual Usability and User Experience Conference this Monday, May 7th. We’re excited to attend once again and are busy putting the final touches on our presentation. This conference is a unique opportunity for CommunicateHealth to highlight the intersection … Continue reading

This post was written by Perrie Briskin. CommunicateHealth is excited to participate in the Institute for Healthcare Advancement’s 11th Annual Health Literacy Conference, May 9 to 11, in Irvine, CA. The conference is an opportunity for the health literacy community to come together to discuss the many challenges facing the field. Featured topics include creating … Continue reading

Before we give our highlights from Day Two of the Digital Health Communication Extravaganza, let’s add our voice to the chorus of attendees who were provoked by Sekou Andrews’ performative speech that closed Day One! Deeply touching (and amusing!), it was a superb example of using storytelling to talk about complex problems and solutions — … Continue reading